Recording apparatus, file management method, program for file management method, and recording medium having program for file management method recorded thereon

ABSTRACT

A recording apparatus such as an optical disk and a file management method are disclosed by which, where an index file is formed from groups of data wherein extract information is collected for different types and one of the groups of data is used to collectively manage the other groups of data, a process relating to deletion or addition of extract information can be executed simply, easily, and with certainty. In each of slots of a property entry, information representing whether the slot is valid or invalid and information representative of a relationship to different slots to which extract information relating to the same file is allocated are recorded, and a combination of the slots in which the extract information of the one file is allocated is managed with the property entry.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to a recording apparatus, a filemanagement method, a program for a file management method, and arecording medium having a program for a file management method recordedthereon and can be applied typically to an optical disk apparatus.

[0002] In recent years, disk apparatus and the like have been proposed,which use a randomly accessible recording medium having a large capacitysuch as an optical disk to record an image pickup result.

[0003] A method is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-openNo. 2001-84705 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1), whichuses such a disk apparatus as described above to improve the operabilityin operation of a large number of files. According to the method of thePatent Document 1, an index file for indexing a large number of filesrecorded on a recording medium is produced from the large number offiles and recorded on the recording medium. The large number of files onthe recording medium can be operated using the index file.

[0004] Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2002-278996 (hereinafter referredto as Patent Document 2) discloses a method, which further improves theoperability in operation of a large number of files recorded on arecording medium. According to the method of the Patent Document 2, anindex file produced in such a manner as described above manages thefiles hierarchically.

[0005] In the methods described above, an index file is composed of apart of actual data, which collectively includes extract informationformed by extracting information relating to a management object fileand so forth and another part of management data, which collectivelyincludes position information and so forth necessary for accessing tothe actual data.

[0006] Referring to FIGS. 18A to 18D, the actual data part is composedof a sound entry E1, a text entry E2, a thumbnail picture entry E3, anda property entry E4, which are data sets collectively including extractinformation classified for individual types into groups. The sound entryE1 has allocated thereto a disk title and extract information of audiodata for a short period of time representative of contents of managementobject files. The sound entry E1 includes a sound entry header SH set atthe top thereof and representing that the entry is the sound entry E1and a sequence of sound entry slots SES0, SES1, SES2, . . . eachincluding extract information collected as a block.

[0007] The text entry E2 has allocated thereto the disk title andextract information of a character sequence of management object files.The text entry E2 includes a text entry header TXH set at the topthereof and representing that the entry is the text entry E2 and asequence of text entry slots TXES0, TXES1, TXES2, . . . each includingextract information collected as a block.

[0008] The thumbnail picture entry E3 has allocated thereto the disktitle and extract information of still pictures representative ofcontents of the management object files. The thumbnail picture entry E3includes a thumbnail picture entry header THH set at the top thereof andrepresenting that the entry is the thumbnail picture entry E3 and asequence of thumbnail picture entry slots THES0, THES1, THES2, . . .each including extract information collected as a block.

[0009] In contrast, the property entry E4 has allocated thereto the disktitle and data representative of properties of the management objectfiles and has allocated thereto extract information of binary data,which are set to the management object files. The property entry E4includes a property entry header PH set at the top thereof andrepresenting that the entry is the property entry E4 and a sequence ofproperty entry slots PES0, PES1, PES2, . . . each including extractinformation collected as a block.

[0010] Consequently, for example, when a desired file is to be selectedwith reference to thumbnail pictures, when a file is to be selectedbased on titles, or in some other case, the index file can provideextract information set to a corresponding one of the entries E1 to E4to the user in accordance with a selection criterion of the user so thatthe user can select a desired file simply, easily, and with certainty.

[0011] Incidentally, it is expected that, if the slots SES0, . . . ,TXES0, . . . , THES0, . . . , and PES0, . . . of the sound entry E1,text entry E2, thumbnail picture entry E3, and property entry E4 of theindex file having such a configuration as described above are formedwith a fixed length, then it is possible to eliminate wasteful use of arecording medium when recording/deletion onto/from the recording mediumare repeated and prevent a drop of the processing speed effectively.

[0012] Where the slots SES0, . . . , TXES0, . . . , THES0, . . . , andPES0, . . . are formed with a fixed length in this manner, dependingupon a file of a management object, extract information obtained fromthe single file is allocated to and managed with a plurality of slots.Accordingly, it is necessary to manage a relationship between the slots.

[0013] Further, since the extract information is information obtained byextraction from the management object file, depending upon the type ofthe management object file, also such a situation possibly occurs that,although a corresponding slot is present in the property entry E4, nocorresponding slot is present in some other entry or entries.Consequently, also it is possible to manage a relationship between theproperty entry E4 and the other entries E1 to E3.

[0014] Thus, it is expected that, if management informationrepresentative of relationships of the property entry E4 with the otherentries is recorded in the property entry E4 and other slots recorded inthe other entries E1 to E3 are referred to in accordance with themanagement information as indicated by arrow marks in FIGS. 18A to 18D,then the management of the extract information can be simplified.

[0015] On the other hand, where files recorded on a recording medium aremanaged with such an index file as described above, it is necessary toupdate the index file when a management object file or files are deletedor added. In this instance, if a corresponding slot or slots are notdeleted or added actually but are set as free or empty slots and thenthe free or empty slots set in this manner are re-utilized, then uselessuse of regions on the recording medium can be reduced.

[0016] It is a possible idea to provide, in such setting of free slotsand management of free slots for re-utilization as just described, aspace bit map for management of free slots in each of the entries E1 toE4 and further set a link list, which is a list of informationindicative of succeeding free slots.

[0017] However, where free slots are managed for each entry in thismanner, there is a problem that, when the records of the four entriesare brought out of matching with each other because of an a bend such asa result of a drop of the power supply before the index file isrewritten completely, a process for restoring the matching iscomplicated. Further, increased time is required for processing of theindex file upon such deletion or addition of a file or files asdescribed above, and this gives rise to a problem that increasedprocessing time is required for a recording apparatus, which involvescomparatively long access time such as an optical disk apparatus.

[0018] Thus, it is expected that, if such free slots as described aboveare managed collectively using the property entry, then such problems asdescribed above can be eliminated. Therefore, it is demanded incollective management with the property entry to cope with deletion andaddition of extract information by deletion, addition and so forth of afile or files.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENITON

[0019] It is an object of the present invention to provide a recordingapparatus, a file management method, a program for a file managementmethod, and a recording medium having a program for a file managementmethod recorded thereon by which, where an index file is formed fromgroups of data wherein extract information is collected for differenttypes and one of the groups of data is used to collectively manage theother groups of data, a process relating to deletion or addition ofextract information can be executed simply, easily, and with certainty.

[0020] In order to attain the object described above, according to thepresent invention, a slot of property has recorded therein informationrepresenting whether the slot is valid or invalid and informationrepresentative of a relationship to another slot to which extractinformation relating to the same file is allocated, and a combination ofslots in which the extract information of the one file is allocated ismanaged with a property entry and besides a free slot is re-utilizedbased on the combination of slots to form an index file from groups ofdata wherein the extract information is collected for the individualtypes thereof. Thus, where one of the data groups is used tocollectively manage the other data groups, a process relating todeletion or addition of extract information can be executed simply,easily, and with certainty.

[0021] In particular, according to an aspect of the present invention,there is provided a recording apparatus for recording desired files on arecording medium including index file production means for producing anindex files of the file recorded on the recording medium from extractinformation of the files and a folder, the index file production meansbeing operable to classify the extract information for individual typesof the extract information into groups including a group of property towhich property information of the files is allocated and a differentgroup different from the group of property, to allocate, in thedifferent group of the extract information, the extract information ofone of the files or the folder to one or a plurality of slots of a fixedlength, and to allocate, in the group of property, the extractinformation of the one file or the folder to one or a plurality of slotsof the fixed length so that the group of property has at least slotscorresponding to the slots of the different group to produce the indexfile. The index file production means sets, in the slots of the group ofproperty, management information for managing the groups. The index fileproduction means sets, in the management information of each of theslots of the group of property, valid/invalid information representativeof whether the slot is valid or invalid, an extension slot numberpointing to an extension slot succeeding the slot, presence/absenceinformation representative of whether a corresponding slot of thedifferent group to which the extract information of the file relating tothe slot is allocated is present or absent, a slot number pointing tothe corresponding slot of the different group, and extension informationrepresentative of whether or not the corresponding slot of the differentgroup is an extension slot. A combination of the slots to which theextract information of the one file or the folder is allocated with theextension slot number, presence/absence information, slot number, andextension information being indicated by the group of property.

[0022] In the recording apparatus, the index file production meansproduces an index file of files recorded on a recording medium fromextract information of the files and a folder. The index file productionmeans classifies the extract information for individual types of theextract information into groups including a group of property to whichproperty information of the files is allocated and a different groupdifferent from the group of property. Further, the index file productionmeans allocates, in the different group of the extract information, theextract information of one of the files or the folder to one or aplurality of slots of a fixed length. The index file production meansfurther allocates, in the group of property, the extract information ofthe one file or the folder to one or a plurality of slots of the fixedlength so that the group of property has at least slots corresponding tothe slots of the different group to produce the index file. Furthermore,the index file production means sets, in the slots of the group ofproperty, management information for managing the groups. The index fileproduction means further sets, in the management information of each ofthe slots of the group of property, valid/invalid informationrepresentative of whether the slot is valid or invalid, an extensionslot number pointing to an extension slot succeeding the slot,presence/absence information representative of whether a correspondingslot of the different group to which the extract information of the filerelating to the slot is allocated is present or absent, a slot numberpointing to the corresponding slot of the different group, and extensioninformation representative of whether or not the corresponding slot ofthe different group is an extension slot. A combination of the slots towhich the extract information of the one file or the folder is allocatedwith the extension slot number, presence/absence information, slotnumber, and extension information is indicated by the group of property.Consequently, even where extract information corresponding to a file isallocated to a plurality of slots of a fixed length in one group and thenumber of slots to be used for registration of extract information ofone file or folder varies in various manners, the combination of slotsto which the extract information of the one file or folder is allocatedcan be grasped simply, easily, and with certainty only with the propertyentry. Consequently, processing relating to deletion and addition ofextract information can be executed simply, easily, and with certaintywith reference to the valid/invalid information and so forth set in theproperty entry.

[0023] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a file management method for managing a plurality of filesstored in a predetermined region including the steps of classifyingextract information of the files and a folder for individual types ofthe extract information into groups including a group of property towhich property information of the files is allocated and a differentgroup different from the group of property, allocating, in the differentgroup of the extract information, the extract information of one of thefiles or the folder to one or a plurality of slots of a fixed length,and allocating, in the group of property, the extract information of theone file or the folder to one or a plurality of slots of the fixedlength so that the group of property has at least slots corresponding tothe slots of the different group to produce an index file. The slots ofthe group of property have set therein management information formanaging the groups being set. The management information of each of theslots of the group of property has set therein valid/invalid informationrepresentative of whether the slot is valid or invalid, an extensionslot number pointing to an extension slot succeeding the slot,presence/absence information representative of whether a correspondingslot of the different group to which the extract information of the filerelating to the slot is allocated is present or absent, a slot numberpointing to the corresponding slot of the different group, and extensioninformation representative of whether or not the corresponding slot ofthe different group is an extension slot. A combination of the slots towhich the extract information of the one file or the folder is allocatedwith the extension slot number, presence/absence information, slotnumber, and extension information being indicated by the group ofproperty.

[0024] According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a program for a file management method for causing a computerto execute a predetermined procedure to manage a plurality of filesstored in a predetermined region. The processing procedure includes thesteps of classifying extract information of the files and a folder forindividual types of the extract information into groups including agroup of property to which property information of the files isallocated and a different group different from the group of property,allocating, in the different group of the extract information, theextract information of one of the files or the folder to one or aplurality of slots of a fixed length, and allocating, in the group ofproperty, the extract information of the one file or the folder to oneor a plurality of slots of the fixed length so that the group ofproperty has at least slots corresponding to the slots of the differentgroup to produce an index file. The slots of the group of property haveset therein management information for managing the groups being set.The management information of each of the slots of the group of propertyhas set therein valid/invalid information representative of whether theslot is valid or invalid, an extension slot number pointing to anextension slot succeeding the slot, presence/absence informationrepresentative of whether a corresponding slot of the different group towhich the extract information of the file relating to the slot isallocated is present or absent, a slot number pointing to thecorresponding slot of the different group, and extension informationrepresentative of whether or not the corresponding slot of the differentgroup is an extension slot, a combination of the slots to which theextract information of the one file or the folder is allocated with theextension slot number, presence/absence information, slot number, andextension information being indicated by the group of property.

[0025] According to a still further aspect of the present invention,there is provided a recording medium on which a program for a filemanagement method for causing a computer to execute a predeterminedprocedure to manage a plurality of files stored in a predeterminedregion is recorded. The processing procedure includes the steps ofclassifying extract information of the files and a folder for individualtypes of the extract information into groups including a group ofproperty to which property information of the files is allocated and adifferent group different from the group of property, allocating, in thedifferent group of the extract information, the extract information ofone of the files or the folder to one or a plurality of slots of a fixedlength, and allocating, in the group of property, the extractinformation of the one file or the folder to one or a plurality of slotsof the fixed length so that the group of property has at least slotscorresponding to the slots of the different group to produce an indexfile. The slots of the group of property have set therein managementinformation for managing the groups being set. The managementinformation of each of the slots of the group of property has settherein valid/invalid information representative of whether the slot isvalid or invalid, an extension slot number pointing to an extension slotsucceeding the slot, presence/absence information representative ofwhether a corresponding slot of the different group to which the extractinformation of the file relating to the slot is allocated is present orabsent, a slot number pointing to the corresponding slot of thedifferent group, and extension information representative of whether ornot the corresponding slot of the different group is an extension slot.A combination of the slots to which the extract information of the onefile or the folder is allocated with the extension slot number,presence/absence information, slot number, and extension informationbeing indicated by the group of property.

[0026] With the file management method, program for the file managementmethod, and recording medium on which the program for the filemanagement method is recorded, where an index file is formed from groupsof data wherein extract information is collected for different types andone of the groups of data is used to collectively manage the othergroups of data, a process relating to deletion or addition of extractinformation can be executed simply, easily and with certainty.

[0027] In summary, according to the present invention, a slot ofproperty has recorded therein information representing whether the slotis valid or invalid and information representative of a relationship toanother slot to which extract information relating to the same file isallocated. Further, a combination of slots in which the extractinformation of the one file is allocated is managed with a propertyentry and besides a free slot is re-utilized based on the combination ofslots to form an index file from groups of data wherein the extractinformation is collected for the individual types thereof. Consequently,where one of the data groups is used to collectively manage the otherdata groups, a process relating to deletion or addition of extractinformation can be executed simply, easily, and with certainty.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] These and other objects of the invention will be seen byreference to the description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

[0029]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an optical disk apparatusaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0030]FIG. 2 is a table illustrating a property entry;

[0031]FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrammatic views illustrating registrationof extract information;

[0032]FIGS. 4A and 4B are similar views but illustrating deletion ofextract information;

[0033]FIGS. 5A and 5B are similar views but illustrating registration ofextract information where a free slot is re-utilized;

[0034]FIGS. 6A and 6B are similar views but illustrating registration ofextract information where a free slot is added;

[0035]FIGS. 7A and 7B are similar views but illustrating deletion ofextract information from the state illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B;

[0036]FIGS. 8 and 9 are flow charts illustrating a processing procedurewhen the registration illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B is performed;

[0037]FIGS. 10 and 11 are flow charts illustrating a processingprocedure when the registration illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B isperformed;

[0038]FIGS. 12A and 12B are diagrammatic views illustrating registrationof extract information where a free slot is re-utilized according to asecond embodiment of the present invention;

[0039]FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating a processing procedure whenthe registration illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B is performed;

[0040]FIGS. 14A and 14B are diagrammatic views illustrating registrationof extract information where a free slot is re-utilized according to athird embodiment of the present invention;

[0041]FIGS. 15A and 15B are diagrammatic views illustrating a processexecuted next to the process illustrated in FIGS. 14A and 14B;

[0042]FIGS. 16 and 17 are flow charts illustrating a processingprocedure when the process illustrated in FIGS. 15A and 15B isperformed; and

[0043]FIGS. 18A to 18D are a diagrammatic view illustrating an indexfile.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0044] 1. First Embodiment

[0045] 1-1. Configuration of the Optical Disk Apparatus

[0046]FIG. 1 shows an optical disk apparatus according to a firstembodiment of the present invention. The optical disk apparatus 1acquires a video signal and an audio signal of an image pickup object bymeans of an image pickup section and a sound acquisition section notshown and records a result of image pickup as the video signal and audiosignal on an optical disk 2. Further, the optical disk apparatus 1reproduces the result of the image pickup recorded on the optical disk 2and outputs it from a displaying section in the form of a liquid crystaldisplay panel and a sound outputting section in the form of a speakerand further outputs it to an external equipment. The optical diskapparatus 1 converts such a video signal and an audio signal of theimage pickup result into streaming data in accordance with a format ofthe MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) and then records the streamingdata in accordance with a predetermined file format on the optical disk2. In the present embodiment, the QuickTime is applied as thepredetermined file format just described. It is to be noted that, while,in the present embodiment, an index file is produced in accordance withthe QuickTime format in this manner, various file formats can be appliedto the index file as hereinafter described. Also as a recording medium,not only an optical disk but also various recording media such as harddisk and a flash memory can be applied.

[0047] In the optical disk apparatus 1, a video encoder 11 performs ananalog/digital conversion process for a video signal of a result ofimage pickup to produce video data and then encodes the video data inaccordance with the format of the MPEG. Consequently, an elementarystream of the video data is outputted from the video encoder 11.

[0048] An audio encoder 12 performs an analog/digital conversion processfor an audio signal of a result of image pickup to produce audio dataand then encodes the audio data in accordance with the format of theMPEG. Consequently, an elementary stream of the audio data is outputtedfrom the audio encoder 12.

[0049] A file generator 15 performs, upon recording, a multiplexingprocess for the elementary streams outputted from the video encoder 11and the audio encoder 12 and produces a QuickTime movie file under thecontrol of a system control microcomputer 19.

[0050] A memory controller 18 changes over operation thereof under thecontrol of the system control microcomputer 19. Upon recording, thememory controller 18 successively records and temporarily retains a datastring of a QuickTime movie file outputted from the file generator 15and various data outputted from the system control microcomputer 19 intoa memory 17 and then outputs the retained data so as to be processed bya succeeding error correction encoder/decoder 21. On the other hand,upon reproducing, the memory controller 18 temporarily retains outputdata from the error correction encoder/decoder 21 and outputs theretained data to a file decoder 16 and the system control microcomputer19.

[0051] The error correction encoder/decoder 21 changes over operationthereof under the control of the system control microcomputer 19, andupon recording, temporarily records output data from the memorycontroller 18 into a memory 20 and adds an error correction code to thetemporarily recorded data. Further, the error correction encoder/decoder21 reads out and outputs the data retained in the memory 20 in such amanner as just described in accordance with a predetermined order.Thereupon, the data are interleaved, and the interleaved data areoutputted to a data modulator/demodulator 23. On the other hand, uponreproduction, the error correction encoder/decoder 21 temporarilyrecords data outputted from the data modulator/demodulator 23 into thememory 20 in accordance with a predetermined order and then outputs thedata conversely to those upon recording. Thereupon, the error correctionencoder/decoder 21 performs a deinterleave process for the dataoutputted from the data modulator/demodulator 23 and outputs the data tothe memory controller 18. Further, at this time, the error correctionencoder/decoder 21 performs an error correction process with the errorcorrection code added upon recording.

[0052] The data modulator/demodulator 23 changes over operation thereofunder the control of the system control microcomputer 19. Uponrecording, the data modulator/demodulator 23 converts output data fromthe error correction encoder/decoder 21 into a serial data string andthen performs a modulation process for the serial data string, andoutputs the modulated serial data string to a magnetic field modulationdriver 24 or an optical pickup 33. On the other hand, upon reproduction,the data modulator/demodulator 23 reproduces a clock from a reproductionsignal outputted from the optical pickup 33 and performs a binaryidentification process and a demodulation process for the reproductionsignal with reference to the clock. Consequently, the datamodulator/demodulator 23 acquires reproduction data corresponding to theserial data string produced upon recording and outputs the reproductiondata to the error correction encoder/decoder 21.

[0053] Where a magneto-optical disk is used as the optical disk 2, uponrecording, the magnetic modulation driver 24 drives a magnetic fieldhead 32 with an output signal of the data modulator/demodulator 23 underthe control of the system control microcomputer 19. Here, the magneticfield head 32 is held so as to face the optical pickup 33 with theoptical disk 2 interposed therebetween, and applies a modulationmagnetic field based on the output data from the datamodulator/demodulator 23 to an irradiation position of a laser beam ofthe optical pickup 33. Consequently, in the optical disk apparatus 1,where a magneto-optical disk is used as the optical disk 2, a QuickTimemovie file and so forth are recorded on the optical disk 2 using athermomagnetic recording method.

[0054] The optical disk 2 is a disk type recording medium. In thepresent embodiment, as the optical disk 2, a rewritable optical disksuch as a magneto-optical disk (MO), a phase change type disk, or thelike is used. A spindle motor 31 drives the optical disk 2 to rotate inaccordance with a condition such as a Constant Linear Velocity (CLV), aConstant Angular Velocity (CAV), a Zone Constant Linear Velocity (ZCLV),or the like suitable for the optical disk 2 under the control of a servocircuit 30.

[0055] The servo circuit 30 controls operation of the spindle motor 31based on various signals outputted from the optical pickup 33 to performa spindle controlling process. Further, the servo circuit 30 similarlycontrols the optical pickup 33 to perform a tracking control and a focuscontrol process, and further causes the optical pickup 33 and themagnetic field head 32 to perform seek operation and executes a processsuch as a focus search process.

[0056] A drive control microcomputer 22 controls seek and the likeoperation of the servo circuit 30 in accordance with an instruction ofthe system control microcomputer 19.

[0057] The optical pickup 33 irradiates a laser beam upon the opticaldisk 2 and receives the reflected light by means of a predeterminedlight reception element, and then arithmetically operates a result ofthe light reception to produce various control signals. The opticalpickup 33 outputs the control signals and further outputs a reproductionsignal whose signal level varies in response to a pit string or a markstring formed on the optical disk 2. Further, the optical pickup 33changes over operation thereof under the control of the system controlmicrocomputer 19, and where the optical disk 2 is a magneto-opticaldisk, upon recording, the optical pickup 33 intermittently raises theluminous energy of the laser beam to be irradiated upon the optical disk2. Consequently, in the optical disk apparatus 1, a QuickTime movie fileor a like file is recorded onto the optical disk 2 by a pulse trainmethod. On the other hand, where the optical disk 2 is a phase changetype disk or the like, the optical pickup 33 raises the luminous energyof the laser beam to be irradiated upon the optical disk 2 in accordancewith the output data from the data modulator/demodulator 23 from thatupon reproduction to that upon writing. Consequently, a QuickTime moviefile or the like is recorded on the optical disk 2 by applying a thermalrecording method.

[0058] The optical disk apparatus 1 compresses a video signal and anaudio signal of an image pickup result by means of the video encoder 11and the audio encoder 12 to individually convert them into elementarystreams and then converts the elementary streams into a QuickTime moviefile by means of the file generator 15. Data of the QuickTime movie fileis sent successively through the memory controller 18, error correctionencoder/decoder 21, and data modulator/demodulator 23 to the opticalpickup 33. The data of the QuickTime movie file is recorded on theoptical disk 2 by the optical pickup 33 or by the optical pickup 33 andthe magnetic field head 32 together with data of an index file and soforth.

[0059] Further, the optical disk apparatus 1 processes a reproductionsignal obtained by the optical pickup 33 by means of the datamodulator/demodulator 23 to obtain reproduction data and then processesthe reproduction data by means of the error correction encoder/decoder21. Consequently, a QuickTime movie file, the index file, and so forthrecorded on the optical disk 2 can be reproduced, and the reproducedQuickTime movie file, index file, and so forth are outputted from thememory controller 18.

[0060] The file decoder 16 receives data of the QuickTime movie fileoutputted from the memory controller 18, decomposes the data intoelementary streams of video data and audio data, and outputs theelementary streams. A video decoder 13 decompresses the elementarystream of the video data and outputs the decompressed elementary streamto a display apparatus or external equipment not shown. An audio decoder14 decomposes the elementary stream of the audio data outputted from thefile decoder 16 and outputs the decompressed elementary stream to asound outputting apparatus or external equipment not shown.Consequently, in the optical disk apparatus 1, an image pickup resultreproduced from the optical disk 2 can be monitored.

[0061] It is to be noted that the optical disk apparatus 1 includes aninterface for allowing connection of an external apparatus such as acomputer thereto. Consequently, the optical disk apparatus 1 can recordoutput of the external apparatus in place of data of an image pickupresult on the optical disk 2 and reproduce a file recorded on theoptical disk 2 so that the file can be processed by the externalapparatus.

[0062] An operation section 26 includes various operation elements ofthe optical disk apparatus 1 and a touch panel disposed on a liquidcrystal display panel, and issues a notification of various operationsby the user to the system control microcomputer 19.

[0063] The system control microcomputer 19 is a computer, which controlsoperation of the entire optical disk apparatus 1. If loading of theoptical disk 2 is detected through execution of a predeterminedprocessing procedure recorded in a memory not shown, then the systemcontrol microcomputer 19 causes the optical pickup 33 to perform seekoperation to the innermost circumference and reproduce managementinformation of a file managing system regarding the optical disk 2.Further, the system control microcomputer 19 acquires the reproducedmanagement information from the memory controller 18 and stores it intoa built-in memory. Consequently, the system control microcomputer 19detects an address each file recorded on the optical disk 2 and a freeregion of the optical disk 2.

[0064] If the system control microcomputer 19 searches the managementinformation acquired in this manner and detects that an index file isrecorded on the optical disk 2, then it controls the optical pickup 33to perform seek operation to the recorded position of the index file andreproduce the index file. Then, the system control microcomputer 19acquires the reproduced index file from the memory controller 18 andrecords and retails it into and in the built-in memory. Consequently, inthe present embodiment, the overall operability is improved inprocessing of files recorded on the optical disk 2 through utilizationof the index file. It is to be noted that the index file can be recordedon the innermost circumference side of a user area of the optical disk 2to reduce the built-up time.

[0065] The system control microcomputer 19 controls operation of theentire optical disk apparatus 1 using the index file in response to anoperation of the user. In particular, the system control microcomputer19 causes thumbnail images and so forth to be displayed on a liquidcrystal display panel for monitoring based on the index file tointroduce contents of QuickTime movie files recorded on the optical disk2. Then, the system control microcomputer 19 accepts selection of a fileby the user from among the introduced QuickTime movie files and causesthe file selected by the user to be reproduced based on correspondingmanagement information.

[0066] On the other hand, if an instruction to record an image pickupresult is issued by the user, then the system control microcomputer 19detects a free region in accordance with the management information andcauses the optical pickup 33 to perform seek operation to the freeregion, and records successively obtained image pickup results onto theoptical disk 2. Further, the system control microcomputer 19 updates themanagement information retained in the memory so as to correspond torecords of QuickTime movie files by such recording of the image pickupresults. Then, upon ejection of the optical disk 2 or the like, thesystem control microcomputer 19 updates the management information ofthe optical disk 2 in accordance with the updated managementinformation. It is to be noted that the updating of the managementinformation is executed by outputting the management informationretained and updated in the memory to the error correctionencoder/decoder 21 through the memory controller 18.

[0067] In the processes described above, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 outputs various kinds of information necessary forproduction of a QuickTime movie file to be used for recording to thefile generator 15. Further, the system control microcomputer 19 acquiresinformation necessary for production of an index file through the filegenerator 15. The system control microcomputer 19 uses the thus acquiredinformation, information outputted to the file generator 15, and othernecessary information to update the index file retained in the memoryregarding a QuickTime movie file to be recorded newly on the opticaldisk 2. Then, the system control microcomputer 19 updates the index filerecorded on the optical disk 2 with the updates index file retained inthe memory in a similar manner as in the updating process of managementinformation.

[0068] On the other hand, if an instruction to perform editing such asdeletion of a file recorded or addition of a file to be recorded on theoptical disk 2 is issued by the user, then the system controlmicrocomputer 19 updates the index file and the management informationretained in the memory in a similar manner as upon recording so as tocope with processing in the editing. Then, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 updates the index file and the management informationof the optical disk 2 with the index file and the management informationretained in the memory. It is to be noted that, if the index file is notrecorded although QuickTime movie files are recorded on the optical disk2, the system control microcomputer 19 produces an index file inaccordance with an instruction of the user. Then, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 retains the index file into the memory and records theindex file on the optical disk 2. In this process, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 reproduces pertaining portions of QuickTime movie filesfrom the optical disk 2 to acquire information necessary for productionof an index file from the memory controller 18.

[0069] 1-2. Index File

[0070] In the present embodiment, the index file is used to manageinformation necessary for reproduction by a file management system ofthe optical disk 2 such as an address of a recorded position, a filename, and a file length of a file similarly to various files recorded onthe optical disk 2 such as a QuickTime movie file. The index fileincludes extract information of management object files and so forth forintroduction of contents of the QuickTime movie files of an object ofmanagement recorded on the optical disk 2.

[0071] If a QuickTime movie file recorded on the optical disk 2 isselected based on the index file, then the optical disk apparatus 1reproduces the selected file from the optical disk 2 based on the filemanagement system of the optical disk 2. Consequently, even where alarge number of QuickTime files are recorded on the optical disk 2, theoptical disk apparatus 1 can select a desired file rapidly andaccurately, and therefore, the operability can be improved as much.

[0072] In the present embodiment, the index file allocates extractinformation, which is extracted from information relating to QuickTimemovie files, and other necessary information to information introducingcontents of the QuickTime movie files. Therefore, the contents of theQuickTime movie files can be grasped simply and readily from the indexfile.

[0073] The index file is composed of four files including a propertyentry, a thumbnail picture entry, a text entry, and a sound entrydescribed hereinabove as an example with reference to FIGS. 18A to 18Dand is written and read between the optical disk 2 and the memory inaccordance with an instruction of the system control microcomputer 19.

[0074] The extract information is extracted from part of managementobject files, which introduce contents of the management object fileswith the index file. Therefore, although the extract information variesdepending upon the types of the management object files, where themanagement object files are QuickTime movie files of video data andaudio data as in the present embodiment, four kinds of data, that is,property data, text data, thumbnail picture data, and sound data areapplied to the extract data. It is to be noted that only the propertydata is essentially required while the other kinds of data may beselectively deleted or data of some other group or groups of a differentkind or kinds not listed here may be additionally used depending uponcircumstances.

[0075] The property data is attribute information, which represents anattribute of the disk title or a management object file, and extractinformation in the form of binary data set to the disk title or amanagement object file is allocated together with management informationof the other extract information and so forth. The text data includesdata representative of a character string of the disk title or the titleof a management object file.

[0076] The thumbnail picture data includes data of a still picturerepresentative of the disk title or contents of a management objectfile, and, for example, the top picture of a management object file isallocated to the thumbnail picture of the management object file. Incontrast, to the thumbnail picture of the disk title or the like, athumbnail picture, for example, of a specific management object file isallocated in accordance with selection of the user. It is to be notedthat the thumbnail picture of each management object file may otherwisebe set by selection of the user.

[0077] The sound data is audio data for a short period of timerepresentative of the disk title or contents of a management objectfile. To the sound data of a management object file, audio data forseveral seconds, typically for 5 seconds, for example, afterreproduction of a corresponding file is started is allocated. Incontrast, to the sound data of the disk title or the like, sound data,for example, of each specific management object file is allocated byselection of the user. It is to be noted that also the sound data of amanagement object file may otherwise be set by selection of the user.

[0078] Thus, in the optical disk apparatus 1, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 acquires and decodes video data and audio datacompressed by the file generator 15 and produces a thumbnail picturefrom the video data through sampling of pixels of the video data.Meanwhile, with regard to the audio data, a required portion of it iscut out to produce sound data. Further, the system control microcomputer19 produces title data from file information of each management objectfile stored in the file management system of the optical disk 2 inaccordance with setting of the user. In contrast, the property data isproduced in response to an operation of the user by the system controlmicrocomputer 19. It is to be noted that such thumbnail picture andsound data are compressed and allocated to the index data atom asoccasion demands.

[0079] The index file includes actual data grouped for the individualkinds of extract information and collected for the individual groupssuch that the extract information forms a plurality of data sets groupedfor the individual kinds thereof. In the index file, headers PH, THH,TXH, and SH are set at the tops of the individual groups as seen inFIGS. 18A to 18D, respectively, and in each group, following the headerPH, THH, TXH, or SH, actual data are allocated to slots of a fixedlength. Consequently, in the index file, extract information formed froma train of slots following each of the headers PH to SH is registered,and the property entry E4, thumbnail picture entry E3, text entry E2,and sound entry E1 described hereinabove with reference to FIGS. 18A to18D are formed individually. Where it is difficult to allocate extractinformation regarding a file or the like to one slot, extractinformation from a management object file or the like is allocated to aplurality of slots.

[0080] To the header at the top of each of the groups, informationdescribing the entire group such as the size of the slots of the groupand the total number of the slots is set. Further, from among the fourgroups, only the property group is essentially required.

[0081] Consequently, when the optical disk apparatus 1 performs a searchfor a desired file with reference to a thumbnail picture, for example,in accordance with an instruction of the user, it reproduces thethumbnail entry to successively acquire data of thumbnail pictures anddisplay the acquired data of thumbnail pictures to accept an instructionof the user.

[0082] 1-3. Management with the Property Entry

[0083] The property entry has registered therein extract information notonly of files recorded on the optical disk 2, which are managementobject files, but also existing folders, virtual folders, and managementobject files virtually disposed in the virtual folders according to thefile management system for the optical disk 2. To each slot of theproperty entry, a slot number (entry number) for specifying the slot andidentification information for identification among an existing file, anexisting folder, a virtual file, and a virtual folder are set as seen inFIG. 2. It is to be noted that also the other entries describedhereinabove can have similarly registered therein existing folders,virtual folders, and management object files virtually disposed in thevirtual folders. Consequently, the index file can be used to manage themanagement object files in accordance with a hierarchical structureready for the file management system for the optical disk 2 or inaccordance with a hierarchical structure based on virtual foldersincluding favorite files or the like set by the user.

[0084] Further, the property entry is formed from slots having a fixedlength similarly as in the other entries. Consequently, if extractinformation regarding the property cannot be allocated to one slot, aplurality of slots are allocated to one management object file or onefolder. It is to be noted that, where a plurality of slots are allocatedto a file or a folder in the property entry or the other entries, anyother slot than the top slot is hereinafter referred to as extensionslot.

[0085] Further, where a plurality of slots are set for one managementobject file or slot similarly in any of the other entries, also in theproperty entry, a plurality of slots are allocated so as to correspondto the slots of the other entry.

[0086] Consequently, for example, to a folder or the like in which noneof the text entry, thumbnail picture entry, and sound entry is set,extract information corresponding to one or a plurality of slots isallocated in accordance with the data amount of the extract informationregarding the property. Meanwhile, to a file or a folder in which eachof the text entry, thumbnail picture entry, and sound entry is formedfrom one slot, extract information corresponding to one or a pluralityof slots is allocated in accordance with the data amount of the extractinformation regarding the property similarly. On the other hand, to afile or a folder in which any of the text entry, thumbnail pictureentry, and sound entry is formed from a plurality of slots, a number ofslots corresponding to the entry, which includes the great number ofslots among the text entry, thumbnail picture entry, and sound entry,are set even where the data amount of the extract information regardingthe property is sufficiently small.

[0087] In the property entry, each of the slots has set therein for eachof the text entry, thumbnail picture entry, and sound entry apresence/absence flag, which represents whether or not there exists acorresponding slot in the text entry, thumbnail picture entry, or soundentry. Further, a slot number, which is identification informationpointing to the corresponding slot is set for each of the text entry,thumbnail picture entry, and sound entry.

[0088] Further, in the property entry, when a succeeding slot to aparticular slot exists, an extension slot number, which is informationrepresentative of the succeeding slot number, is set in the pluralslots. It is to be noted that, where no corresponding slot exists, avalue having no meaning is set to the extension slot number and the slotnumbers. Consequently, where one slot is allocated to the tail one ofthe plural slots and one entry, presence/absence of a corresponding tothe other entries and so forth can be detected.

[0089] Furthermore, in the property entry, where a corresponding slot ofanother entry to a slot thereof is an extension slot, an extension flagas extension information representing that the corresponding slot of thedifferent entry is an extension slot is set corresponding to the textentry, thumbnail picture entry, or sound entry.

[0090] Further, in each slot of the property entry, a valid/invalid flagrepresenting whether the slot is valid or invalid is set so as to copewith deletion of a management object file only by an operation of theflag. It is to be noted that, in each slot of the property entry, forexample, information of a referencing relationship regarding adivisional file, information of an order of reproduction, and so forthare allocated additionally as management information.

[0091] Consequently, if the extension slot number representative of asucceeding extension slot is successively traced to detect a slot of theproperty entry, the slots of the property in the property entry to whichextract information of one file or one folder can be detected. Further,the slots of the other entries to which the extract information of theone file or folder is allocated can be detected with reference to thepresence/absence flag, slot number, and extension flag set to the slotsof the property entry detected in this manner. Consequently, acombination of slots to which the extract information of the one file orfolder is allocated can be detected with reference only to the differentkinds of information of the property.

[0092] From the foregoing, in the present embodiment, where an indexfile is formed from groups of data wherein extract information iscollected for different types and the property entry, which is one ofthe groups of data is used to collectively manage the other groups ofdata, a process relating to deletion or addition of extract informationcan be executed simply, easily, and with certainty by processing of thepresence/absence flags, slot numbers, extension slot number, extensionflags, and valid/invalid flag described above.

[0093] In particular, in management of free or empty slots throughsetting and updating of the presence/absence flags, slot numbers,extension slot number, extension flags, and valid/invalid flag, if theindex file does not include a free slot, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 adds a required number of slots to the tail end of theproperty entry in order to add a management object file or folder, addsa required number of slots to each of the text entry, thumbnail pictureentry, and sound entry, and allocates corresponding extract informationindividually to the slots added in this manner. At this time, thepresence/absence flags, slot numbers, and extension slot numbers for theentries described hereinabove with reference to FIG. 2 are set so as toindividually match with the allocation of the extract information to theentries, and the extension slot number and the valid/invalid flag areset to the corresponding slot of the property entry.

[0094] Consequently, in such a case as described above, the systemcontrol microcomputer 19 adds, for example, three files. If only oneslot of the property entry is required for each of the three files, thesystem control microcomputer 19 adds three slots PESn, PESn+1, andPESn+2 to the tail end of the property entry E4. Further, the systemcontrol microcomputer 19 sets the valid/invalid flag in each of thethree added slots PESn, PESn+1, and PESn+2 to valid and sets a valuehaving no meaning (a null value; in the following description and in thedrawings, represented as empty) to the extension slot number.

[0095] Where the thumbnail picture entry E3 is not registered into theindex file as seen in FIG. 3B, the thumbnail presence/absence flag isset to absence in the corresponding slot PESn of the property and avalue (empty) having no meaning and NO are set to the correspondingthumbnail slot number and the corresponding thumbnail extension flag,respectively.

[0096] On the other hand, when one slot is to be registered into thethumbnail picture entry E3 in a corresponding relationship to each ofthe files to be added, in the corresponding slots PESn+1 and PESn+2 ofthe thumbnail picture entry E3, the thumbnail presence/absence flag isset to presence and the slot numbers of the slots THEm and THEm+1 of thecorresponding thumbnails are set in the corresponding thumbnail slotnumbers while NO is set to the thumbnail extension flags.

[0097] When the entire extract information, for example, of the slotsPESn and PESn+2 is to be deleted by a deletion operation of a managementobject file or folder in a state wherein the index file is updated inthis manner, the system control microcomputer 19 operates in thefollowing manner. In particular, as seen in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the systemcontrol microcomputer 19 sets the valid/invalid flags of the slots PESnand PESn+2 to invalid and sets values having no meaning (empty and NO)to the extension slot numbers and the thumbnail extension flags,respectively. However, the system control microcomputer 19 does notchange the thumbnail slot numbers but maintains the values as they are.It is to be noted that, in the following description, a process ofsetting the extension slot number, the other entry presence/absenceflag, and the other entry extension flag to empty, absence, and NO,respectively, is referred to as initialization process.

[0098] Consequently, the system control microcomputer 19 can perform asimple process to delete an entire registration of extract informationto produce a free slot, and the free slot produced in this mannermaintains a relationship of a combination of slots to which extractinformation of one original file or folder is allocated. Therefore, sucha situation (leak state) that some slot is in the air without beingreferred to from any other slot is prevented.

[0099] When only a registration of extract information regarding someother entry such as the thumbnail picture entry is to be deleted, thepresence/absence flag regarding the corresponding entry is set toabsence and the thumbnail extension flag is set to NO while the othersettings are maintained (refer to FIGS. 7A and 7B). More particularly,for example, when only the slot THEm of the thumbnail picture entry isto be deleted, only the presence/absence flag of the corresponding entryis set to absence and the thumbnail extension flag is set to NO in thecorresponding slot PESn+1 of the property entry thereby to set thethumbnail picture slot THESm as a free slot. Also by this, the systemcontrol microcomputer 19 can perform a simple and easy process to deletea registration of extract information itself to produce a free slotwhile a combination of original slots is maintained. Consequently, asituation (leak state) wherein some slot is in the air without beingreferred to from any other slot is prevented.

[0100] From the foregoing, in the index file, the property entry can beused to control the other entries in a unified manner to produce a freeslot wherein the valid/invalid flag and the presence/absence flags areset to invalid and absence, respectively, by deletion of a file or afolder, editing of the index file, and so forth.

[0101] When extract information is to be additionally registered byaddition of a file or a folder, editing of the index file, and so forth,the system control microcomputer 19 detects a free slot of the propertyentry with reference to the valid/invalid flag and re-utilize the freeslot. Further, upon such setting of a free slot, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 makes effective use of information of the slot numbermaintained till then and makes effective use of a slot group(hereinafter referred to as combination of free slots) detected based onthe information to register the extract information. In this instance,the extension slot number is set to empty in the overall deletion ofextract information so that, in the present embodiment, a combination ofsuch free slots is produced in a unit of one slot of the property entry.This also executes various processes repetitively to prevent appearanceof a slot in a leak state in the thumbnail picture entry and so forth.

[0102] In particular, the system control microcomputer 19 searches theproperty entry to detect those slots whose valid/invalid flag is set toinvalid to detect free slots of the property entry. Further, the systemcontrol microcomputer 19 traces a setting of an extension slot numberset in the free slot detected in this manner to detect a combination offree slots. Further, the system control microcomputer 19 detects thenumbers of slots of entries necessary for recording of the extractinformation to be registered additionally, detects a combination of freeslots having the numbers of slots of the entries necessary for theadditional registration, and registers the extract information to beregistered additionally into the combination of slots. Furthermore, thesystem control microcomputer 19 sets the valid/invalid flags of the freeslots to valid.

[0103] When the extract information is registered into the combinationof corresponding free slots in this manner, since the entry numbersrepresentative of corresponding relationships to the other entriesmaintain the values prior to the deletion, the other free slots areallocated as they are, and consequently, the extract information can beregistered additionally by a simple and easy operation.

[0104] In this instance, from between the free slots PESn and PESn+2 ofthe property entry E4 of FIG. 4A, the slot PESn itself forms acombination of free slots while the other slot PESn+2 cooperates withthe thumbnail slot THEm+1 to form another combination of free slots. Insuch an instance, where extract information of the property entry forone slot is to be registered, if the slot PESn is searched out as a freeproperty slot, then the property information is registered into the slotPESn. If thumbnail picture data is to be added for one slot to theentry, one thumbnail slot is added to the tail end of the thumbnailpicture entry and the slot PESn is set so as to point to the added slot,and then the thumbnail picture data is written into the added thumbnailslot. Or, as an alternative method, if an invalid slot is present in thethumbnail picture entry (in this instance, the slot THEm+1 of FIG. 4B isan invalid slot), then the property slot PESn is set so as to point tothe invalid slot while the field, which has pointed to the invalidthumbnail slot (in this instance, THEm+1) from the property slot (inthis instance, PESn+2), is set to “empty” and the thumbnail picture datais written into the acquired thumbnail slot. In any case, at a finalstage, the thumbnail presence/absence flag is set to “presence” and thethumbnail extension flag is set to “NO” to change the thumbnail slotinto a valid thumbnail slot. It is to be noted that, when a file withregard to which it is known from the beginning that thumbnail picturedata is to be added for one slot in the state of FIGS. 4A and 4B is tobe registered, such a method as just described may be used, butalternatively a property slot, which holds an invalid thumbnail slot (inthe case of FIGS. 4A and 4B, PESn+2 and THEm+1), may be searched forfrom the beginning to write attribute information and thumbnail picturedata into the combination of slots.

[0105] Consequently, the system control microcomputer 19 detects a freeslot in the group of the property entry with reference to thevalid/invalid flag, which is valid/invalid information, detects acombination of free slots to which extract information of one file orfolder was allocated in the past with reference to slot numbers pointingto corresponding slots of the other entries set to the detected freeslots, and registers corresponding extract information into the detectedcombination of free slots. Therefore, the combination of free slots canbe re-utilized effectively to effectively prevent a useless increase offree slots.

[0106] In contrast, when extract information for a plurality of slots isto be registered into the property entry, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 couples free slots of the property entry by settings ofthe extension slot number and registers the extract information into thecoupled free slots.

[0107] In particular, when extract information having a data amount for2 slots is to be registered into the property entry, the slot PESn ofthe property entry, which is a free slot only with regard to theproperty entry, is detected first as seen in FIG. 4A. In this instance,only the slot PESn does not satisfy the shortage of free slots, anotherfree slot PESn+2 is detected.

[0108] In this instance, as seen from FIG. 5A in contrast with FIG. 4A,the system control microcomputer 19 secures the two property slots PESnand PESn+2 as an object of registration and sets the valid/invalid flagsof the slots PESn and PESn+2 to valid. Thereafter, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 sets the extension slot number of the slot PESn so asto point to the slot PESn+2 from the slot PESn, that is, so that theslot PESn+2 becomes an extension slot of the slot PESn thereby to form acombination of free slots including the two property slots PESn andPESn+2 and the one thumbnail slot THEm+1.

[0109] The system control microcomputer 19 registers the other extractinformation and management information into the property slots PESn andPESn+2. In this instance, the free slot THEm+1 of the thumbnail pictureentry pointed to by the slot number of the property slot PESn+2 ismaintained as a free slot.

[0110] Consequently, when extract information for a plurality of slotsis to be registered into the property entry, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 sets the extension slot number of each of the slots sothat the detected free property slots may form a list structure andregister the extract information into the slots. This can also reduceuseless free slots and register the extract information efficiently.

[0111] Further, where, in the process of registration of the propertyentry, extract information for a different one of the entries is to beregistered simultaneously, if free slots sufficient for the extractinformation for the different entry are detected based on the slotnumber of the corresponding entry set to the slot of the property entry,which is an object of registration, then in this instance, the extractinformation for the different entry is registered into the free slotsand the presence/absence flag and the extension flag are set so as tomatch with the registration. At this time, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 sets the presence/absence flag, extension flag, andslot number so as to successively point to the corresponding slot of thedifferent entry from the top side of the corresponding slot of theproperty entry. In particular, when, in the example illustrated in FIGS.5A and 5B, extract information is to be registered into the slots PESnand PESn+1 of the property entry and the free slot THEm+1 of thethumbnail picture entry, the slot number and the extension flat set inthe slot PESn+1 in FIG. 5A are copied into and set to the top side slotPESn of the property entry. Further, the slot number and the extensionflag in the slot PESn+1 are set to empty and NO, respectively. Further,the presence/absence flag in the slot PESn is set to presence.

[0112] In contrast, where no such free slot is present and further wherethe number of free slots of the property entry is insufficient whenextract information is to be registered into the property entry, thesystem control microcomputer 19 adds a number of slots corresponding tothe shortage, re-sets the extension slot numbers with regard to theadded slots, and registers the extract information into the free andadded slots of the property entry.

[0113] In particular, for example, where the combination of the slotPESn of the property entry, which is only one slot in the propertyentry, and the slot PESn+2 of the property entry and the slot THEm+1 ofthe thumbnail picture entry, which are each only one slot in theproperty entry or the thumbnail picture entry, is present as describedhereinabove with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B, if extract informationfor three slots and for two slots is to be registered into the thumbnailpicture entry and the property entry, respectively, the thumbnailpicture entry and the property entry are short of slots by one slot andtwo slots, respectively.

[0114] In this instance, the system control microcomputer 19 adds thenumbers of slots corresponding to the shortages to the tail ends of thecorresponding entries as seen in FIGS. 6A and 6B, respectively. It is tobe noted that the added slots are denoted by PES+1, THEp+1, and THEp+2,respectively. Consequently, the system control microcomputer 19 setsfree slots, which are not associated with any other slot, to the tailends of the entries.

[0115] Thereafter, the system control microcomputer 19 secures the freeslots PESn and PESn+2 of the property entry and the free slot PESo+1added to the property entry as an object of registration and sets thevalid/invalid flags of the slots PESn, PESn+2, and PESo+1 to valid.Further, the extension slot numbers of the slots PESn and PESn+2 are setas seen from pointing to the slot PESn+2 from the slot PESn and as seenfrom pointing to the slot PESo+1 from the slot PESn+2. Consequently, acombination of the three slots PESn, PESn+2, and PESo+1 of the propertyentry and the one slot THEm+1 of the thumbnail entry is formed.

[0116] Further, the system control microcomputer 19 sets thepresence/absence flags in the slots PESn and PESo+1 of the propertyentry, whose thumbnail presence/absence flags have been set to absence,to presence and sets the slot numbers of the slots PESn and PESo+1 so asto point to the slots THEp+1 and THEp+2 of the thumbnail entry thusadded, respectively. Consequently, a combination of the three slotsPESn, PESn+2, and PESo+1 of the property entry and the three slotsTHEm+1, THEp+1, and THEp+2 of the thumbnail picture entry is formed.

[0117] Then, the system control microcomputer 19 registers extractinformation into the free slots PESn, PESn+2, PESo+1, THEm+1, THEp+1,and THEp+2 of the combination. It is to be noted that, also in thisinstance, the information of the slot number in the slot PESn+2 of theproperty entry in which a link relationship (slot number) to thethumbnail picture entry is originally set is maintained as it is so thatthe processing for registration of the type described can be simplified.Consequently, in the example illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B, theproperty entry has extract information registered in the order of a rowwhile the thumbnail picture entry has extract information registered inan order different from the order of a row.

[0118] Consequently, where a combination of detected free slots givesrise to shortage of slots, the system control microcomputer 19 adds thenumber of slots corresponding to the shortage, adds the added slots tothe combination of free slots, and registers extract information intoall of the slots.

[0119] It is to be noted that, when only the extract information of thethumbnail picture entry is to be deleted in the state wherein theextract information is registered in such a manner as described above,the system control microcomputer 19 sets the thumbnail presence/absenceflag and the extension flag of the corresponding slot of the propertyentry to absence and NO, respectively, while the other associated slotnumbers are maintained as they are as seen from FIG. 7A in contrast withFIG. 6A.

[0120]FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate a processing procedure for setting of anextension slot number by the system control microcomputer 19 when onlythe property entry is to be registered. After the processing procedureis started, the system control microcomputer 19 advances its processingfrom step SP1 to step SP2, at which it detects the number of slotsnecessary for registration of a property entry and sets the number to avariable n.

[0121] Thereafter, the system control microcomputer 19 advances theprocessing to step SP3, at which it discriminates whether or not thevariable n is greater than 0. If an affirmative result is obtained, thenthe system control microcomputer 19 advances the processing to step SP4.At step SP4, the system control microcomputer 19 discriminates whetheror not there exists a free slot whose valid/invalid flag is set toinvalid. If an affirmative result is obtained, then the processingadvances to step SP5, at which the system control microcomputer 19secures the free slot. Then at step SP6, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 sets the valid/invalid flag and the slot number of thefree slot to valid and empty, respectively, as described hereinabovewhile it maintains the extension slot number, presence/absence flags,and extension flags in the initial state as upon setting of the freeslot and besides registers extract information. Thereafter, theprocessing advances to step SP7.

[0122] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained at step SP4,then the system control microcomputer 19 advances the processing fromstep SP4 to step SP8, at which it adds the slot to the tail end of theproperty entry to secure the slot as a free slot. Then at next step SP9,the system control microcomputer 19 sets the valid/invalid flag and soforth of the free slot and registers the extract information asdescribed above. Thereafter, the processing advances to step SP7.

[0123] Consequently, when the number of free slots detected withreference to the valid/invalid flag is insufficient, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 adds a slot or slots and registers extract informationof the property. After the extract information and so forth areregistered in this manner, the system control microcomputer 19discriminates, at step SP7, whether or not the slot to which the extractinformation has been set at immediately preceding step SP6 or SP9 is anextension slot, that is, whether or not the slot is any other slot thanthe top slot where extract information is registered into a plurality ofslots in one entry. If a negative result is obtained, then the systemcontrol microcomputer 19 advances the processing from step SP7 to stepSP10, at which it decrements the variable n by the value 1. Thereafter,the processing returns to step SP3.

[0124] Consequently, the system control microcomputer 19 repeats theprocessing procedure by a number of times required for the registrationto successively register the extract information of the property. In thesecond and following repetitions of the processing procedure, anaffirmative result is obtained by the system control microcomputer 19 atstep SP7. Consequently, the system control microcomputer 19 now advancesthe processing from step SP7 to step SP11. At step SP11, the systemcontrol microcomputer 19 sets the extension slot number of the slotregistered formerly by the repetitions of the processing procedure so asto point to the slot relating to the registration at the immediatelypreceding step SP6 or SP9. Thereafter, the processing advances to stepSP10.

[0125] Consequently, the system control microcomputer 19 successivelysets an extension slot number to repeat the processing procedure by anumber of times equal to the number of slots necessary for theregistration. Then, after the registration of all of the slots iscompleted, a negative result is obtained at step SP3. Consequently, theprocessing advances from step SP3 to step SP12, at which the systemcontrol microcomputer 19 ends the processing procedure.

[0126] On the other hand, FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate a processingprocedure by the system control microcomputer 19 when extractinformation of a thumbnail picture is registered. After the processingprocedure is started, the system control microcomputer 19 advances itsprocessing from step SP21 to step SP22, at which it detects the numberof slots necessary for registration into the thumbnail picture entry andsets the number to a variable n. Then at step SP23, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 discriminates whether or not the number of slotsregarding extract information to be registered into the property entryin the registration of the property entry corresponding to theregistration into the thumbnail picture entry is greater than thevariable n set at step SP22. If a negative result is obtained, then theprocessing advances to step SP24, at which the system controlmicrocomputer 19 secures a number of free slots equal to theinsufficient number of slots in the property entry. Thereafter, theprocessing advances to step SP25. It is to be noted that the operationto secure free slots in the property entry is executed in accordancewith the processing procedure described hereinabove with reference toFIGS. 9 and 10. On the other hand, if an affirmative result is obtainedat step SP23, then the processing advances directly to step SP25.

[0127] At step SP25, the system control microcomputer 19 sets a variablem representative of the number of slots of the thumbnail picture entrywith which storage of extract information is completed to the value 0.Then at next step SP26, the system control microcomputer 19 sets a slotnumber k of the property entry corresponding to the thumbnail pictureentry with which the storage of extract information is completed to thevalue 1. Thereafter, the processing advances to step SP27, at which thesystem control microcomputer 19 discriminates whether or not thevariable m is smaller than the variable n.

[0128] If an affirmative result is obtained, then the system controlmicrocomputer 19 advances the processing from step SP27 to step SP28, atwhich it detects a free slot from within the property entry anddiscriminates whether or not the presence/absence flag, which indicatespresence of a corresponding thumbnail slot, is set to absence in thefree slot. If an affirmative result is obtained, then the system controlmicrocomputer 19 advances the processing from step SP28 to step SP29, atwhich it adds the thumbnail slot as a free slot to the tail end of thethumbnail picture entry. Then at next step SP30, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 sets the slot number to the free slot of the propertyentry detected by the process at step SP28 so as to point to the freeslot added at step SP29. Thereafter, the processing advances to stepSP31. On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained at step SP28,then the processing advances directly from step SP28 to step SP31.

[0129] At step SP31, the system control microcomputer 19 discriminateswhether or not the slot number k is equal to the value 1. If anaffirmative result is obtained, then the processing advances from stepSP31 to step SP32, at which the system control microcomputer 19 sets thethumbnail presence/absence flag to presence and sets the thumbnailextension flag to NO in the free slot of the property entry detected atstep SP28. Thereafter, the processing advances to step 33. On the otherhand, if a negative result is obtained at step SP31, then the systemcontrol microcomputer 19 advances the processing from step SP31 to stepSP34, at which it sets the thumbnail presence/absence flag to presenceand sets the thumbnail extension flag to YES. Thereafter, the processingadvances to step SP33.

[0130] At step SP33, the system control microcomputer 19 allocates theextract information corresponding to an order number indicated by theslot number k into the free slot of the thumbnail picture entry pointedto by the slot of the property entry detected at step SP28 or the freeslot of the thumbnail picture entry added at step SP30. Thereafter, theprocessing advances to step SP35, at which the system controlmicrocomputer 19 increments the slot number k by the value 1. Then atnext step SP36, the system control microcomputer 19 increments thevariable m by the value 1 similarly, whereafter it returns theprocessing to step SP27. Consequently, where the number of free slots isinsufficient, the system control microcomputer 19 adds a slot or slotsof each of the property entry and the thumbnail picture entry andsuccessively registers the property and thumbnail extract informationinto the added slots. Then, if the registration of all of the extractinformation is completed, then a negative result is obtained at stepSP27. Consequently, the processing now advances from step SP27 to stepSP38, at which the system control microcomputer 19 ends the processingprocedure.

[0131] It is to be noted that the system control microcomputer 19executes a process similarly also for registration of extractinformation of the other text and sound entries as well as forregistration of a combination of the extract information of them andextract information relating to combinations of the thumbnail pictureentry and the property entry.

[0132] 1-4. Operation of the First Embodiment

[0133] In the optical disk apparatus 1 (FIG. 1) having such aconfiguration as described above, video data and audio data acquired bythe image pickup system and the sound acquisition system are encoded bythe video encoder 11 and the audio encoder 12, respectively, and thenconverted into a data stream of a QuickTime movie file by the filegenerator 15. The data stream is recorded on an optical disk 2 by arecording system formed from the memory controller 18, error correctionencoder/decoder 21, data modulator/demodulator 23, magnetic fieldmodulation driver 24, and optical pickup 33. Consequently, in theoptical disk apparatus 1, an image pickup result is recorded as aQuickTime movie file on the optical disk 2. Further, output data of thesystem control microcomputer 19 is outputted to the recording system ofthe optical disk apparatus 1 so as to be compatible with the recordingof the file of the optical disk 2. Consequently, management informationof the file management system for the optical disk 2 is updated so as tobe compatible with the recording of the QuickTime movie file.

[0134] The QuickTime movie file recorded in this manner is successivelyreproduced through the optical pickup 33, data modulator/demodulator 23,error correction encoder/decoder 21, and memory controller 18 based onthe management information of the file management system and thendecomposed into elementary streams of video data and audio data by thefile decoder 16. The elementary streams of video data and audio data aredecoded by and outputted from the video decoder 13 and the audio decoder14, respectively.

[0135] In the optical disk apparatus 1, upon such recording of aQuickTime movie file, data for thumbnail pictures and data for sound areacquired from the file generator 15 by the system control microcomputer19, and data of a title is acquired by the system control microcomputer19 through inputting of the user or the like before or after therecording of the file. Further, information of a file name and so forthregarding the file management system is acquired. Then, extractinformation of the QuickTime movie file to be recorded on the opticaldisk 2 is collected by the system control microcomputer 19. In theoptical disk apparatus 1, an index file is produced with the extractinformation acquired in such a manner as described above in the memorybuilt in the system control microcomputer 19 similarly to the managementinformation regarding the file management system for the optical disk 2,and the index file is recorded on the optical disk 2 similarly to theQuickTime movie file. Further, the management information of the filemanagement system is updated so as to be compatible with the recordingor deletion of the index file.

[0136] In the index file production process of the system controlmicrocomputer 19, extract information is classified for individual kindsof extract information into groups to form, for the different kids ofextract information, files of a property entry, a text entry, athumbnail picture entry, and a sound entry, which cooperate with oneanother to form an index file. Consequently, in the present embodiment,the index file can be utilized efficiently to detect a desired filesimply, easily, and with certainty, and the operability can be improvedas much.

[0137] In the index file produced in this manner, the extractinformation of one file or one folder is allocated to and registered ina slot of a fixed length in each of the entries such that the extractinformation of the one file or folder is allocated to one or a pluralityof slots. Consequently, in the present embodiment, processing relatingto the index file can be simplified.

[0138] When corresponding extract information is registered into theindividual entries using slots of a fixed length in this manner, aproperty entry is formed in the index file such that it has slotscorresponding to the other entries. Consequently, in any other entry ofthe index file than the property entry, the number of slots to beallocated to one file or folder varies depending upon the file or folderof the object of management or upon the setting of the user. Incontrast, in the property entry, slots corresponding to slots of theother entries are provided without fail, and consequently, the slots ofthe other entries can be managed with reference to the property entry.

[0139] The property entry has slots set therein in this manner, andmanagement information for managing the other entries is set in theslots of the property entry. The management information in each slot ofthe property entry includes a valid/invalid flag, which is valid/invalidinformation representative of whether the slot is valid or invalid, anextension slot number pointing to an extension slot succeeding to theslot, presence/absence information (a presence/absence flag) whether ornot there exists a slot of a different entry corresponding to the slot,a slot number pointing to the corresponding slot of the different entry,and an extension flag representative of whether the corresponding slotof the different entry is an extension slot. Consequently, in the indexfile, a combination of slots to which extract information of one file orone folder is allocated can be indicated with the managementinformation. As a result, processing relating to deletion or addition ofextract information can be executed simply, easily, and with certaintywith reference to the management information set in the property entry(FIGS. 2, 3A, and 3B).

[0140] In particular, where the management information is set in theproperty entry of the index file in this manner and, in order to deletethe one file or folder, the registration of the entire correspondingextract information is to be deleted, in the present embodiment, thevalid/invalid flag allocated to the management information is set toinvalid and the extension slot number, presence/absence flags, andextension flags are set to empty, absence, and NO as initially set,respectively. Thus, also a slot detected by successively tracing theextension entry number set in the slot relating to the valid/invalidflag is formed as a free slot by similar settings. Consequently, in thepresent embodiment, extract information can be deleted simply, easily,and with certainty (FIGS. 4A and 4B).

[0141] On the other hand, when extract information in a particular entryis to be deleted, the presence/absence flag of the entry of the objectof the deletion can be set to absence in a corresponding slot of theproperty entry and also in a slot detected by successively tracing theextension entry number set in the slot of the property entry thereby toset the slots in which the extract information of the particular entryis recorded to free slots. This can also execute processing of the indexfile in deletion simply, easily, and with certainty (FIGS. 7A and 7B).

[0142] Where free slots are produced by settings of the valid/invalidflag and the presence/absence flag in this manner, in the presentembodiment, those slot numbers, which point to the corresponding slotsof the different entries, are maintained as they are. Consequently, inthe present embodiment, a combination of free slots can be grasped fromthe combination of slots in which extract information has been recorded.As a result, increase of free slots can be prevented effectively, andthe convenience in registration of extract information can beanticipated by utilization of the combination of free slots. Further, bysetting the extension slot number to empty, such a combination of freeslots as described above is formed in a unit of a slot of the propertyentry. This can also execute processing of deletion and registration ofextract information through simple and easy processing. Furthermore,even if various processes are repeated, a slot in a leak state does notappear at all.

[0143] In particular, in the present embodiment, when extractinformation is to be registered, the numbers of free slots of theentries necessary for the registration are detected, and a combinationof corresponding free slots is detected based on management informationset in the property entry. If no free slot is detected or in a likecase, then free slots corresponding to the extract information to beregistered are added to the individual entries, and the correspondingextract information and so forth are allocated to the added free slots.Consequently, extract information from one file or folder is registeredinto the index file (FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A, and 4B).

[0144] In contrast, if a combination of free slots, which satisfies thenumbers of slots necessary for the registration, is detected, then thecorresponding extract information and so forth are allocated to thecombination of the free slots. Consequently, the extract informationfrom the one file or folder is registered into the index file. At thistime, naturally the valid/invalid flag of the property entry is set tovalid. Further, when extract information of a different entry is to beregistered, the presence/absence flag in the corresponding entry is setto presence. However, since the slot numbers are maintained as thoseupon registration of the extract information relating to the combinationof free slots, corresponding free slots of the entries can be detectedwith the slot numbers to register the extract information withoutsearching for necessary free slots of the different entries again.Consequently, processing relating to registration of extract informationcan be simplified (FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A, and 4B).

[0145] In contrast, where a plurality of slots are required for theproperty entry upon such registration of extract information asdescribed above, that is, where the extract information itself of theproperty entry requires a plurality of slots, and besides where extractinformation for a different entry requires a plurality of slots and alsothe property entry requires a plurality of slots as much, free slots inthe property entry are detected. Then, the extension slot numbers of thefree slots are set so as to link a required number of free slots of theproperty entry thereby to produce a combination of a plurality of slotsrelating to the free slots. Further, the extract information isregistered into the combination produced in this manner (FIGS. 4A, 4B,5A, and 5B). Consequently, a combination of free slots can be managed ina unit of a slot of the property entry to register extract informationsimply and easily into a plurality of slots of the property entry.

[0146] Further, when also extract information of a different entry is tobe registered upon the registration of the property entry, the extractinformation is registered into free slots of the different entrycorresponding to such combination of free slots as described above andthe presence/absence flags and the extension flags are set so as tomatch with them. Also in this process, it is possible to detect freeslots of the different entry based on the extension slot numbers, whichremain set in the individual slots of the property entry, andconsequently, the extract information can be registered by simple andeasy processing. Further, in such registration of extract informationinto the different entry as just described, the presence/absence flags,slot numbers, and extension flags of the property entry are set so as tosuccessively point to a slot beginning with the corresponding top slotof the property entry. Consequently, even where deletion or/and additionare repeated, thumbnail picture data and so forth can be searched outthrough a simple and easy process.

[0147] In contrast, where a plurality of slots are required for theproperty entry, if the property entry and/or the different entry areshort of free slots, free slots are added to the tail end of that entry,which is short of slots, and the management information of the slots ofthe property entry is set so as to add the added free slots to thecombination of free slots (FIGS. 4A, 4B, 6A, and 6B). In the combinationof free slots with the free slots added in this manner, thevalid/invalid flags are set to valid and corresponding extractinformation and so forth are allocated to the slots. Consequently, theextract information from the one file or folder is registered into theindex file.

[0148] Also in this instance, since, in the combination of the originalfree slots, the slot numbers relating to the combination of free slotsare maintained as those upon registration, the settings of the slotnumbers can be utilized effectively to register the extract information.Consequently, processing relating to registration of extract informationcan be simplified.

[0149] 1-5. Advantages of the First Embodiment

[0150] With the optical disk apparatus having the configurationdescribed above, each slot of the property entry records, as managementinformation representative of whether the slot is valid or invalid andindicative of a relationship to other slots to which extract informationrelating to the same file is allocated, an extension slot number,presence/absence flags, slot numbers, and extension flags. Thecombination of slots in which the extract information is recorded ismanaged with the property entry. Consequently, where an index file isformed from groups of data wherein extract information is collected fordifferent types and one of the groups of data is used to collectivelymanage the other groups of data, a process relating to deletion oraddition of extract information can be executed simply, easily, and withcertainty.

[0151] In particular, by setting a free slot by setting of thevalid/invalid information without changing the slot numbers from amongthe management information items, processing relating to deletion ofextract information can be executed simply, easily, and with certainty.Further, a combination of free slots can be formed by a combination ofslots set upon registration of extract information. Consequently, thefree slots can be re-utilized based on the combination of free slots toexecute processing relating to registration of extract informationsimply, easily, and with certainty.

[0152] Further, by changing only the presence/absence flag relating to adifferent entry without changing the slot numbers at all to deletecorresponding extract information of the property entry to set a freeslot, only desired extract information can be deleted simply and easily.Further, a combination of slots in which the extract information isregistered can be formed from the combination of slots set uponregistration of the extract information. Consequently, the combinationof slots can be utilized for registration of extract information toexecute processing relating to registration of extract informationsimply, easily, and with certainty.

[0153] Further, by detecting such a combination of free slots asdescribed above with reference to the valid/invalid flag and so forthand registering extract information into the combination, the extractinformation can be registered simply, easily, and with certainty.

[0154] Further, where slots are insufficient, a free slot or slots areadded to the entry, which exhibits the shortage, and a combination offree slots is formed together with the added free slots and extractinformation is registered into the combination. This can also registerextract information simply, easily, and with certainty.

[0155] Further, where a plurality of slots are required for registrationof extract information in the property entry, also if the extension slotnumber is set so as to point to a slot of the property entry, whichrelates to another combination of free slots, and a plurality ofcombinations of free slots are collected into one combination and thenthe extract information is registered into the collective combination offree slots, the extract information can be registered simply, easily,and with certainty.

[0156] Furthermore, in this instance, where slots are insufficient, alsoif a free slot or slots are added to the entry, which exhibits theshortage, and a combination of free slots is formed together with theadded free slots and then extract information is registered into thecombination, the extract information can be registered simply, easily,and with certainty.

[0157] 2. Second Embodiment

[0158] In the present embodiment, when free slots corresponding toshortage are to be added to a corresponding entry, a predeterminednumber of slots are added collectively. It is to be noted that thepresent embodiment is configured similarly to the first embodimentexcept that it is different in a process relating to such addition ofslots.

[0159] In particular, as seen in FIGS. 12A and 12B, in the presentembodiment, when free slots are insufficient, a predetermined number offree slots are set collectively at the tail end of a correspondingentry. It is to be noted that, in the example of FIGS. 12A and 12B, apredetermined number of free slots are added to the property entry andonly one of the added free slots is used for registration of extractinformation.

[0160] Therefore, the system control microcomputer 19 in the presentembodiment executes, for the example illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B, aprocessing procedure of steps SP8-1, SP9-1, and SP9-2 illustrated inFIG. 13 in place of the process at step SP8 described hereinabove withreference to FIGS. 8 and 9. In the description of FIG. 13, theprocedures, which are the same as described in FIGS. 8 and 9, have samenumerals.

[0161] Referring to FIG. 13, the system control microcomputer 19advances the processing from step SP3 (FIG. 8) to step SP4, at which itdiscriminates whether or not a free slot is present in the propertyentry. If an affirmative result is obtained, then the system controlmicrocomputer 19 successively executes the processes at steps SP5 andSP6 similarly as in the processing procedure in the first embodiment andadvances the processing to step SP7 thereby to register the extractinformation into the free slot detected in the property entry.

[0162] On the other hand, if no free slot is present at step SP4, then anegative result is obtained at step SP4, and in this instance, thesystem control microcomputer 19 advances the processing to step SP8-1.At step SP8-1, the system control microcomputer 19 adds a predeterminednumber of slots to the tail end of the property entry. Then at stepSP9-1, the system control microcomputer 19 registers correspondingextract information into the slot added directly to the tail end of theproperty entry and sets management information of the slot. Further atstep SP9-2, the remaining added slots are set as free slots. Thereafter,the processing advances to step SP7.

[0163] Where free slots are added collectively in this manner, there isno necessity to register a free slot every time shortage of a slotoccurs. Consequently, similar advantages to those of the firstembodiment can be achieved while the processing can be simplified asmuch.

[0164] 3. Third Embodiment

[0165] In the present embodiment, from a combination of slots includinga slot set as a free slot by the setting of the presence/absence flag,the free slot is removed and allocated to a combination of free slots,which is short of slots, thereby to prevent appearance of a free slotwith a higher degree of certainty. It is to be noted that the presentembodiment is configured similarly to the first embodiment except thatit is different in processing of a free slot relating to the setting ofthe presence/absence flag.

[0166] In particular, for example, where each of the property entry andthe thumbnail picture entry is short of one slot for registration ofextract information as seen in FIGS. 14A and 14B, with respect to theslot PESn, the thumbnail picture entry is short of a free slot. Incontrast, the slot PESn+1 has a free slot of the thumbnail pictureentry.

[0167] In such an instance, the system control microcomputer 19 detectsthe slot PESn+2 of the property entry E4 wherein the presence/absenceflag is set to absence and the extension slot number is set to asignificant value with regard to an insufficient slot. As seen fromFIGS. 15A and 15B in contrast with FIGS. 14A and 14B, when the slotPESn+2 set in this manner is detected, the system control microcomputer19 sets the thumbnail slot number of the slot PESn+2 to empty so as notto point to the free slot THEm thereby to remove the free slot THEm fromwithin the combination of the slot PESn+2 to which the free slot THEmhas belonged till then.

[0168] Further, the system control microcomputer 19 sets the slot numberin the free slot PESn of the property entry into which the extractinformation is to be registered so as to point to the slot THEm removedas described above and sets the presence/absence flag to presencethereby to add the removed free slot THEm to the combination of the freeslot PESn of the object of registration of the extract information.Further, the system control microcomputer 19 registers the extractinformation into the combination of the free slot PESn to which the freeslot THEm is added in this manner.

[0169] Therefore, the system control microcomputer 19 in the presentembodiment executes a processing procedure at steps SP29-1 to SP29-5illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17 in place of the processes at steps SP29and SP30 described hereinabove with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. In thedescription of FIGS. 16 and 17, the procedures, which are the same asdescribed in FIGS. 10 and 11, have same numerals, and overlappeddescription thereof is omitted.

[0170] Referring to FIGS. 16 and 17, if an affirmative result isobtained at step SP27 illustrated in FIG. 10, then the system controlmicrocomputer 19 advances the processing from step SP27 to step SP28. Atstep SP28, the system control microcomputer 19 discriminates whether ornot the presence/absence flag representative of presence of acorresponding thumbnail slot is set to absence in the slot of theproperty entry, which is an object of registration of the extractinformation. If a negative result is obtained, then the system controlmicrocomputer 19 advances the processing from step SP28 to step SP31.Then, the system control microcomputer 19 executes the processes at stepSP32 and SP33 or executes the process at step SP34, and thereafteradvances the processing to step SP35 (FIG. 10).

[0171] In contrast, if an affirmative result is obtained at step SP28,then since a slot is not present in the thumbnail picture entry, theprocessing advances to step SP29-1. At step SP29-1, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 discriminates whether or not a slot of the propertyentry wherein the presence/absence flag is set to absence and the slotnumber is set to a significant value is present. If a negative result isobtained, then the system control microcomputer 19 advances from stepSP29-1 to step SP29-2, at which it adds a free slot to the tail end ofthe thumbnail picture entry. Then at next step SP29-3, the systemcontrol microcomputer 19 sets the slot number to the free slot of theproperty entry relating to the process at step SP28 so as to point tothe free slot added at step SP29-2. Thereafter, the processing advancesto step SP31.

[0172] On the other hand, if an affirmative result is obtained at stepSP29-1, then the system control microcomputer 19 advances the processingfrom step SP29-1 to step SP29-4, at which it copies the slot numberrelating to the free slot detected at step SP29-1 and sets the slotnumber to the free slot of the property entry of the object ofprocessing. Further, at next step SP29-5, the system controlmicrocomputer 19 sets the slot number relating to the free slot detectedat step SP29-1 to empty. Thereafter, the processing advances to stepSP31.

[0173] In the present third embodiment, a slot number is set in a freeslot into which extract information is to be registered so as to pointto a free slot of a different combination of slots and thepresence/absence flag is set so as to match with the setting of the slotnumber to move the short free slot from the different combination ofslots to the combination of free slots and register the extractinformation into the thus moved free slot. Consequently, similaradvantages to those of the first embodiment can be achieved whileappearance of a free slot can be further reduced in comparison with thefirst and second embodiments.

[0174] 4. Other Embodiments

[0175] It is to be noted that, while, in the embodiments describedhereinabove, an index file is formed from entries each in the form of afile, the present invention is not limited to this but can be appliedwidely also where each entry is formed as an internal file to form anindex file.

[0176] Further, while, in the embodiments described hereinabove, thepresent invention is applied to an optical disk apparatus to record animage pickup result, an output of a personal computer, and so forth, thepresent invention is not limited to this but can be applied widely alsowhere a large number of files recorded on various recording media suchas a magneto-optical disk and a hard disk apparatus are managed or wherea large number of files stored in a predetermined server are managed.

[0177] Further, while, in the embodiments described hereinabove, amanagement object file in the form of a QuickTime movie file is managed,the present invention is not limited to this but can be applied widelyalso where files of video data, files of audio data, and so forth ofvarious formats are managed.

[0178] Further, while, in the embodiments described hereinabove, anindex file is recorded together with a management object file, thepresent invention is not limited to this but can be applied widely alsowhere an index file is recorded on a recording medium different fromthat on which a management file is recorded, where an index file isstored in a server different from that in which a management file isstored, and so forth.

[0179] Further, while, in the embodiments described hereinabove, aseries of processes is executed in accordance with a processing programinstalled in advance in the system control microcomputer 19, the presentinvention is not limited to this but can be applied widely also wheresuch a program as just described is provided in the form of a recordingmedium or through a network such as the Internet and a series ofprocesses is executed in accordance with the program. It is to be notedthat, as such a recording medium as just described, various recordingmedia such as an optical disk and a magnetic tape can be applied widely.

[0180] While preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed using specific terms, such description is for illustrativepurpose only, and it is to be understood that changes and variations maybe made without departing from the spirit or scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A recording apparatus for recording desired fileson a recording medium, the recording apparatus comprising: index fileproduction means for producing an index file of the files recorded onthe recording medium from extract information of the files and a folder;said index file production means being operable to classify the extractinformation for individual types of the extract information into groupsincluding a group of property to which property information of the filesis allocated and a different group different from the group of property,to allocate, in the different group of the extract information, theextract information of one of the files or the folder to one or aplurality of slots of a fixed length, and to allocate, in the group ofproperty, the extract information of the one file or the folder to oneor a plurality of slots of the fixed length so that said group ofproperty has at least slots corresponding to the slots of the differentgroup to produce the index file; said index file production meanssetting, in the slots of the group of property, management informationfor managing the groups; said index file production means setting, inthe management information of each of the slots of the group ofproperty, valid/invalid information representative of whether the slotis valid or invalid, an extension slot number pointing to an extensionslot succeeding the slot, presence/absence information representative ofwhether a corresponding slot of the different group to which the extractinformation of the file relating to the slot is allocated is present orabsent, a slot number pointing to the corresponding slot of thedifferent group, and extension information representative of whether ornot the corresponding slot of the different group is an extension slot;a combination of the slots to which the extract information of the onefile or the folder is allocated with the extension slot number,presence/absence information, slot number, and extension informationbeing indicated by the group of property.
 2. The recording apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein, when the extract information of all ofthe groups relating to a predetermined one of the files or the folder isto be deleted, in the slot or each of the slots of the group ofproperty, which has or have the extract information, the slot number,which points to the corresponding slot of the different group, ismaintained without being changed while the valid/invalid information isset to invalid and the extension slot number, presence/absenceinformation, and extension information are cleared thereby to set all ofthe slots to which the extract information of the file or the folder isallocated as free slots.
 3. The recording apparatus according to claim1, wherein, when the extract information of the different group relatingto a predetermined one of the files or the folder is to be deleted, inthe slot or each of the slots of the group of property, which has orhave the property information of the extract information, thevalid/invalid information, extension slot number, and slot number aremaintained without being changed while the presence/absence informationis set to absence and the extension information is cleared thereby toset the corresponding slot of the different group as a free slot.
 4. Therecording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said index fileproduction means detects a free slot of the group of property withreference to the valid/invalid information, detects a combination offree slots to which the extract information of the predetermined file orthe folder was allocated in the past with reference to the slot numberset in the detected free slot, and registers the extract informationinto the detected combination of free slots.
 5. The recording apparatusaccording to claim 4, wherein, where the detected combination of freeslots gives rises to shortage of a slot, said index file productionmeans adds, when the group with regard to which the shortage of a slotoccurs is the group of property, a free slot based on setting of thevalid/invalid information, but adds, when the group with regard to whichthe shortage of a slot occurs is the different group, a free slot to thegroup, and sets the slot number of the added slot to the slot number inthe free slot of the group of property, which points to thecorresponding slot of the different group, adds the added slot to thecombination of detected free slots, and registers the extractinformation into the resulting combination of free slots.
 6. Therecording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said index fileproduction means executes, upon addition of a free slot, collectiveaddition of a predetermined plural number of free slots, adds a numberof slots equal to the number of slots corresponding to the shortage fromamong the added free slots to the combination of detected free slots,and registers the extract information into the resulting combination offree slots.
 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein,where a plurality of slots are required for the group of property inorder to register the extract information, said index file productionmeans detects a number of free slots required for the group of propertywith reference to the valid/invalid information, successively sets theextension slot number of each of the free slots so as to point from eachone of the free slots to a different one of the free slots thereby toset a combination of free slots relating to the one free slot andanother combination of free slots relating to the different free slot toone combination of free slots, and registers the extract informationinto the one combination of free slots.
 8. The recording apparatusaccording to claim 4, wherein, where the detected combination of freeslots gives rises to shortage of a slot in the different group, saidindex file production means sets the slot number in the detectedcombination of free slots so as to point to a free slot of thecorresponding group, which is set as a free slot in a differentcombination of slots and sets the presence/absence information so as tomatch with the setting of the slot number thereby to add the free slotof the corresponding group in the different combination of slots to thedetected combination of free slots, sets a null value to the slot numberin the different combination of slots so as not to point to the slot setas a free slot in the different combination of slots thereby to removethe slot set as a free slot from the different combination of slots, andregisters the extract information into the detected combination of freeslots.
 9. A file management method for managing a plurality of filesstored in a predetermined region, comprising the steps of: classifyingextract information of the files and a folder for individual types ofthe extract information into groups including a group of property towhich property information of the files is allocated and a differentgroup different from the group of property; allocating, in the differentgroup of the extract information, the extract information of one of thefiles or the folder to one or a plurality of slots of a fixed length;and allocating, in the group of property, the extract information of theone file or the folder to one or a plurality of slots of the fixedlength so that said group of property has slots at least correspondingto the slots of the different group to produce an index file; the slotsof the group of property having set therein management information formanaging the groups being set; the management information of each of theslots of the group of property having set therein valid/invalidinformation representative of whether the slot is valid or invalid, anextension slot number pointing to an extension slot succeeding the slot,presence/absence information representative of whether a correspondingslot of the different group to which the extract information of the filerelating to the slot is allocated is present or absent, a slot numberpointing to the corresponding slot of the different group, and extensioninformation representative of whether or not the corresponding slot ofthe different group is an extension slot; a combination of the slots towhich the extract information of the one file or the folder is allocatedwith the extension slot number, presence/absence information, slotnumber, and extension information being indicated by the group ofproperty.
 10. A program for a file management method for causing acomputer to execute a predetermined procedure to manage a plurality offiles stored in a predetermined region, the processing procedurecomprising the steps of: classifying extract information of the filesand a folder for individual types of the extract information into groupsincluding a group of property to which property information of the filesis allocated and a different group different from the group of property;allocating, in the different group of the extract information, theextract information of one of the files or the folder to one or aplurality of slots of a fixed length; and allocating, in the group ofproperty, the extract information of the one file or the folder to oneor a plurality of slots of the fixed length so that said group ofproperty has at least slots corresponding to the slots of the differentgroup to produce an index file; the slots of the group of propertyhaving set therein management information for managing the groups beingset; the management information of each of the slots of the group ofproperty having set therein valid/invalid information representative ofwhether the slot is valid or invalid, an extension slot number pointingto an extension slot succeeding the slot, presence/absence informationrepresentative of whether a corresponding slot of the different group towhich the extract information of the file relating to the slot isallocated is present or absent, a slot number pointing to thecorresponding slot of the different group, and extension informationrepresentative of whether or not the corresponding slot of the differentgroup is an extension slot; a combination of the slots to which theextract information of the one file or the folder is allocated with theextension slot number, presence/absence information, slot number, andextension information being indicated by the group of property.
 11. Arecording medium on which a program for a file management method forcausing a computer to execute a predetermined procedure to manage aplurality of files stored in a predetermined region is recorded, theprocessing procedure comprising the steps of: classifying extractinformation of the files and a folder for individual types of theextract information into groups including a group of property to whichproperty information of the files is allocated and a different groupdifferent from the group of property; allocating, in the different groupof the extract information, the extract information of one of the filesor the folder to one or a plurality of slots of a fixed length; andallocating, in the group of property, the extract information of the onefile or the folder to one or a plurality of slots of the fixed length sothat said group of property has at least slots corresponding to theslots of the different group to produce an index file; the slots of thegroup of property having set therein management information for managingthe groups being set; the management information of each of the slots ofthe group of property having set therein valid/invalid informationrepresentative of whether the slot is valid or invalid, an extensionslot number pointing to an extension slot succeeding the slot,presence/absence information representative of whether a correspondingslot of the different group to which the extract information of the filerelating to the slot is allocated is present or absent, a slot numberpointing to the corresponding slot of the different group, and extensioninformation representative of whether or not the corresponding slot ofthe different group is an extension slot; a combination of the slots towhich the extract information of the one file or the folder is allocatedwith the extension slot number, presence/absence information, slotnumber, and extension information being indicated by the group ofproperty.